Eugene, Ore: Jamaica’s Alain Thompson-Hera bested her Olympic gold-medal winning time in the 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic as Shakari Richardson finished last on her return to the track after a controversy.
Thompson-Hera completed the 100 meters in 10.54 seconds on Saturday, the best time in the world this year as well as a meet record and personal best. She topped her Olympic-record 10.61 in Tokyo as she moved closer to Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record of 10.49 set in 1988.
Fellows Jamaica’s Shelley-Ann Fraser-Price and Sherrika Jackson drove Thompson to the finish line, a 1-2-3 finish similar to the Olympics.
I’m a little surprised because I haven’t run that fast in five years and I ran really fast in the championship. But it’s really amazing to be back here after two weeks to put up another personal best, said Thompson-Hera.
The Diamond League race at Hayward Field began as a showdown against Jamaica that many in Japan expected to see Richardson return to the game after a positive marijuana test.
To really just do what I have in my heart, that navigates me from day to day, was a blessing, Richardson said later, promising that a better finish was to come.
Richardson, who won the 100 on the same track at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in June, became a sensation with her long, colorful nails and big personality. But his title was stripped after he tested positive for marijuana shortly after the race.
He was handed a 30-day suspension which kept him out of the event in Tokyo and was subsequently dropped from the US team as part of the relay pool, although his suspension would have been completed by the time of the 4×100 race.
This past month was a journey for me, but that is no excuse, because at the end of the day I am an athlete. Today was a day, but it is not every day. It’s not the end of the world,” said Richardson. “And like I say, if you count me, poke fun at you.
Richardson opted not to double in the 200, which was won by Mujinga Kambundji. Alison Felix, who became the United States’ most decorated Olympian this summer in Japan, finished in the back of the field but was greeted warmly by the crowd.
That’s why I went on cam just to say thank you and thank you for showing my appreciation.
The star-studded arena for the event was attended by 47 medalists from the Tokyo Games.
Canada’s Marco Erop won the 800 in 1:44.51, beating Olympic gold medalist Emmanuel Korir of Kenya, who finished third, and silver medalist Ferguson Rotich, who finished runner-up. On the women’s side, Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu won the 800 in 1:55.04.
Canada’s Andre de Grasse won the 100 with a wind-assisted 9.74 in a field that included second-place Tokyo finisher Fred Kerle and 39-year-old Justin Gatlin.
Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles won 200 medals in 19.52, also a meet record and this year’s best world record.
Kenyan Nora Jaruto won the steeplechase in 8:53.65, another meet record and the world’s best this year, while second-placed Courtney Frerichs finished in 8:57.77 to set the American record.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the 1,500 in 3:53.23.
Shot put gold medalist Ryan Krauser, who set a world record in the event at the Trials, won the event in the Prix with a meet-record mark of 23.15 m (75 ft, 11 in). Pedro Pechardo of Portugal won the triple jump.
In the women’s field events, American Katie Nagote won the pole vault and Ukraine’s Irina Gerashchenko took the high jump.
The Prefontaine Classic, named after famed Oregon sprinter Steve Prefontaine, is the eighth stop on the Diamond League schedule and the only US-based meet. This year’s star-studded event will serve as a preview to next year’s world championships at Hayward Field.
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